JERUSALEM, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Paramilitary Border Police forces entered some mixed Arab-Jewish cities on Tuesday night as fresh street violence erupted between Arabs and Jews, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.

As days-long riots renewed overnight in major cities, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered some 16 Border Police companies "relocated immediately" from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Lod, a city east of Tel Aviv, and other cities, according to a statement issued by Gantz's office.

Lod's Mayor Yair Revivo urged the government to impose a military curfew in a bid to restore calm.

He said in a statement that the police "have lost control" over the riots, adding that some synagogues and hundreds of vehicles were torched down by Arab rioters.

Israel's state-owned Kan News reported that some of the Jews were seeking to flee from the mixed Arab-Jewish city as rioters attempted to torch gas balloons near residential buildings and hurled stones on cars belonging to Jews.

A 56-year-old Jewish man sustained a serious head injury, Israel's emergency health services said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the police said they arrested a Jewish man after he allegedly shot and killed an Arab during riots on Monday night in Lod. The victim's funeral on Tuesday afternoon turned into a riot as dozens of Arab protesters hurled stones at the police, according to a police statement.

Israeli Arabs are the Palestinians who stayed put during the 1948 Israel's Independence War.

The violence between Israeli Jews and Arabs came as the tension continues to rise between the Palestinians and Israel following the clashes in East Jerusalem and other cities in the West Bank.

Israel has also bombed targets in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip in response to the rocket attacks launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza, in the worst escalation since 2014.

At least 28 Palestinians in Gaza and three Israelis have reportedly been killed during the clashes since Monday. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)